VISITING CHICAGO: Visitors with literary interests offered a 'Devil' of a tour

Friday

May 11, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 11, 2007 at 11:03 AM

Looking for something a little darker to do while visiting Chicago? Why not step into the bygone era that spawned America 's first serial killer?

Mike Ramsey

Looking for something a little darker to do while visiting Chicago? Why not step into the bygone era that spawned America 's first serial killer?

The Chicago Architecture Foundation has a new guided tour based on Erik Larson's 2003 bestseller "Devil in the White City." The nonfiction work blended the true stories of the staging of Chicago 's 1893 World's Fair and that of H.H. Holmes, the contemporaneous South Side pharmacist who is believed to have preyed on tourists.

"'The Devil in the White City' has been on the bestseller list for four years," said Christopher Multhauf, a volunteer foundation guide who created the tour. "It has remarkable staying power, and it's created a tremendous amount of interest in what Chicago was like in that really dynamic time."

Participants attend a slide presentation of period photographs before traveling to the Hyde Park region, where Chicago leaders, led by architect Daniel Burnham, built the innovative Columbian Exposition (the White City) on a former marsh. Today, only the Museum of Science and Industry remains intact at the former fairgrounds, but the surrounding area retains many vintage structures.

For purists, a key element is missing. Holmes' murderous lair, a sprawling building in nearby Englewood known as "The Castle," burned down in 1895, a year before he was executed in Philadelphia for unrelated crimes. Multhauf said the tour doesn't bother stopping at the disappointingly modern-looking intersection of 63rd and Wallace, where a post office sits.

Holmes is considered to be this country's first serial killer, but true-crime aficionados disagree on the number of people he murdered. The Jekyll-and-Hyde personality specialized in seducing women before killing them, and he had plenty of potential victims as independent ladies migrated to Chicago to seek jobs, Multhauf noted.

Holmes is more of a secondary character in the program, but "we sprinkle in just enough lurid stuff to keep everyone's interest," he said.

The 3 1/2-hour tour costs $55 ($45 for seniors and students), and the fee includes bus transportation. Upcoming dates are May 18, June 15, July 13, Aug. 17, Sept. 14, Oct. 19, all Fridays, and the following Sundays - May 27, June 24, July 22, Aug. 26, Sept. 30 and Oct. 28.

For more information, visit www.architecture.org or call (312) 922-3432.

Mike Ramsey can be reached at (312) 857-2323 or gnsramsey@sbcglobal.net.